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Sacramento Observer Named Nation’s Best Black Newspaper
The Sacramento Observer was recognized in grand fashion by winning 16 journalism awards — including the John B. Russwurm Award as America’s best Black newspaper — during the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) annual convention held in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 29.
Publication Wins 16 Total Awards; Larry Lee Saluted As ‘Publisher of The Year’
The Sacramento Observer was recognized in grand fashion by winning 16 journalism awards — including the John B. Russwurm Award as America’s best Black newspaper — during the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) annual convention held in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 29.
It was the seventh time in as many years that the newspaper, which began operations in 1962, received top honors among the 200 Black publications in the NNPA.
The Observor Publisher Larry Lee was in attendance at the awards ceremony and thanked The Observor staff for its impactful work during the event.
“I’m so thankful for our team,” Lee said. “Winning awards such as these isn’t possible without a great team, and I will put our team up against any other newsroom in the nation.”
In addition to the Russwurm Award, The Observer took home four first-place awards (Newspaper Excellence, Video Campaign, Special Edition, and Website Excellence), seven second-place awards (Entertainment; Instagram Campaign; Business; Health; Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle; Layout & Design; and Editorial & Opinion) and three third-place awards (Environment, Facebook Campaign and Community Service). Of note, The Observer won an award in every digital category.
Lee was also saluted by his fellow publishers by being named Publisher of the Year — an award that moved him to tears.
“Being honored by your peers is very special, because I know what you all go through,” he told the hundreds in attendance.
The NNPA awards comes on the heels of The Observer also being named the third-best weekly newspaper in the entire state of California by the California Newspaper Publishers Association last month.
